The center was formed in 1974 by the merger of the American Oncologic Hospital, which was founded in 1904 as the first cancer hospital in the United States,[1] and the Institute for Cancer Research, founded in 1927. The center was an independent, non-profit institution until it became part of TUHS July 1, 2012.

Today it has almost 2,400 employees and an operating budget of $300 million. Research is conducted in more than 80 laboratories by a staff of more than 325 physicians and scientists who hold medical degrees, Ph.D.s or both.

Fox Chase's 100-bed hospital is one of the few facilities in the country devoted entirely to cancer care. Annual hospital admissions average about 4,100 and outpatient visits to physicians exceed 69,000 a year. As of 2014, the Fox Chase Cancer Center was ranked as the 19th best cancer hospital in the United States by U.S. News & World Report.[2]

On December 15, 2011, Fox Chase Cancer Center and Temple University Health system signed an affiliation agreement.[3] Under the agreement, Fox Chase has connected and extended its current operations into the adjoining 176-bed and 33-acre Jeanes Hospital, which is already a part of the Temple University Health System. Fox Chase is considered the "Cancer Hub" of the Temple University Health System.

2011 The 6th Albert Szent-Györgyi Prize for Progress in Cancer Research was awarded to Beatrice Mintz by the National Foundation for Cancer Research for her discoveries of the relationship between development and cancer, based on construction and analysis of chimeric and transgenic mouse models.

2004 The Kyoto Prize in Basic Science is awarded to Alfred G. Knudson for lifetime achievement and contributions to the betterment of mankind.

1991 Timothy Yen discovers that a molecular motor controls the way human cells sort their chromosomes when cells divide during mitosis.

1982 William Mason and Jesse Summers demonstrate that the hepatitis B virus utilizes reverse transcription for genome replication, previously thought to be unique to retroviruses.

1981 Beatrice Mintz's laboratory is one of the first to introduce a cloned gene into fertilized mouse eggs and prove that it is retained in animals developing from those eggs, and is transmitted to their progeny.